Love it or hate it, you will be getting a Directors update every two weeks! Communication is one of the cornerstones of our getting back to basics plan.

Over the last month and a half, I have been to 9 states campaigning for Trail Access, meeting with Clubs, meeting with dealers, with congressional leaders and attending planning sessions with potential partners.

I made a commitment to many of you that we would do a few things better, much better as we move this work forward:

I would keep our members, the community, dealers, congressional leaders, manufacturers and everyone else updated consistently on the progress we are making, the battles we are fighting and the help we need. We are doing an MUCH better job publicizing our work on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We are redesigning the website and adding a BRCTV link with interviews, debates and a look at the work we do.

We are continuing to create specific legal campaigns where you can donate to a specific battle or project. That money will go directly to that effort. We made an aggressive effort on your behalf to cut overhead by 50%. I continue to believe that more needs to be spent on what matters most! We’ve seen an INCREDIBLE response in the number of individuals willing to donate A LOT of time and services (as ambassadors and employees) to make this happen. In the next few issues of the magazine you will meet some of our new volunteer ambassadors for veterans, our disabled program and Women on the Trail programs.

This has been a remarkably good summer of growth. We are creating a link on the website that will let you see that growth and give you an opportunity to monitor how dollars are spent on lobbying and legal.

We are creating a sister 501c4 to accommodate our growing need to raise larger sums of money from industry to lobby for our new legislative agenda that we hope will bring a NEW era of Congressional action on Travel Management Planning and new Trail Programs.

In our Fall fundraising letter and in my first magazine article, I outline where our legislative, marketing and legal efforts are headed. By the end of September, I will be posting our “Strategic Road Map for 2019” that will coincide with our Fall Board meeting.

We have a lot of work to do, and we need your help. DO NOT HESITATE to email me at brspencer@sharetrails.org. We’re here for you- you make this a reality! I want you to trust that we will be good stewards of your investment in us!